Jindal-backed bills to add budget flexibility clear the state Senate

BATON ROUGE -- A package of bills designed to make it easier to raid various protected state funds during lean budget times cleared the Senate today despite opposition from business lobbyists.

The Times-Picayune archiveGov. Bobby Jindal

Senators gave overwhelming approval to the bills, which are backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal and also have strong support from health-care interests. But they are expected to face steep opposition in the more conservative House, where Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, has said he doesn't think there is a two-thirds majority support needed for passage.

The bills are a key part of the governor's strategy for dealing with a $1.7 billion projected budget shortfall in the 2011-12 fiscal year, when federal stimulus dollars expire and the state's contributions to the Medicaid programs are expected to rise.

The most far-reaching measures, Senate Bills 1 and 2 by Senate President Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, would change the rules governing the state's rainy day fund so that it can be tapped in years when Louisiana experiences a loss of federal Medicaid dollars. Current law says the fund can only be used in years when state revenues are lower than the previous year.

Unless the rules are changed, the rainy day account would almost certainly be off-limits next year when the state could be forced to make deep cuts to health-care, higher education and other programs.

"There are going to be cuts even if these bills pass," Chaisson said. "These bills will just give us a broader array of options."

Opponents said there is no guarantee that money from the rainy day account would be used to support health-care and higher education.

The administration estimates that about $3.9 billion in state dollars are locked away in protected funds that cannot be accessed when the state faces budget shortfalls. That leaves health-care and higher education programs, which are financed by discretionary money, as the most vulnerable to reductions.

Other bills in the package include:

Senate Bills 391 and 392, also by Chaisson, which would let legislators take up to 10 percent (up from 5 percent) from protected funds when the state faces a shortfall. The bills were amended to exempt any funds that are financed by dedicated fees. The amendments also put the state Transportation Trust Fund, which is financed by gasoline taxes, and the state Conservation Fund, which is financed by fees paid by hunters and fishers, from being tapped to help offset cuts in other parts of the budget.

Senate Bills 410 and 434, by Chaisson, which would redirect the distribution of some tobacco-settlement income in a way that would provide an extra $30 million a year for health-care programs.